"It wasn't supposed to turn out this way" to air May 17 Stein of Joshua Stein and Fries of Bingham McCutchen to host webinar

Two leading commercial real estate attorneys will offer suggestions on dealing with troubled loans during a webinar sponsored by the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the national Mortgage Bankers Association. The webinar, entitled "It Wasn't Supposed to Turn Out This Way," will feature Joshua Stein and Richard Fries. Stein is the sole principal of Joshua Stein PLLC. Fries co-chairs the real estate group at Bingham McCutchen LLP. The two speakers will discuss deal structures they see in the marketplace, lender and borrower concerns, as well as pre-workout agreements, lender liability, receiverships, loan enforcement, and restructuring models. The webinar will air on www.mbaa.org, on Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., New York time. "Dealing with loan workouts is more interesting than originating the loan," said Stein. "The origination process is relatively straightforward. You get information, understand the asset, prepare or review documents, negotiate, and sign. Everyone's happy. When the loan gets into trouble, it's a whole different mindset, with a much more complicated situation because of the history of the loan." "To restructure a loan, you have to understand what happens if you don't restructure it, and you also have to understand the dynamics, the people, and the leverage involved," said Fries. "It's a fascinating area, and we have excellent strategies and techniques that help the parties implement a successful and lasting workout." Stein is a leading speaker and writer on commercial real estate law, including commercial real estate financing. He represents both borrowers and lenders. In his fifth book, published by LexisNexis, "A Guide to Troubled Commercial Real Estate Loans for Lenders and Borrowers," he offers a practical and business-oriented summary of how to deal with troubled commercial real estate loans. Fries handles origination, litigation, and restructuring of commercial real estate loans, primarily for lenders, for properties located in the New York area and throughout the country. He was the primary author of New York's non-judicial foreclosure law. Both speakers are members of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Their names regularly appear on lists of leading commercial real estate lawyers. For more information on the webinar, visit www.mbaa.org.